Geiranger: The mother of all fjords

Relaxed cruising on a fjord.

The touristic highlight of a Norway vacation is a fjord cruise. A fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep cliffs, created by glacial erosion. It is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by ice segregation and abrasion of the surrounding bedrock. The most popular fjord in Norway is the Geiranger fjord named by the village of Geiranger at the end.

From the coast line to Geiranger is about 100km into the mainland. Going by car is a slow drive along curvy roads, a few times going up and down around hair-pin bends up to 600m.

We decide to take a ferry from Hellesylt to Geiranger village to experience breath-taking nature. The ferry leaves up to 8 times a day, mostly used by tourists. No reservation required: first come, first served. When we arrive about 1 hour before departure, a queue of cars, tour buses and campers is already waiting. Next to the waiting area are benches and tables inviting the tourists to picnic until boarding starts. We wait and see.

Eventually we can drive onto the boat. It is a roll-on/roll-off ferry (you roll on the ferry from the rear end and roll off at the front) which makes it simple because we don´t have to U-turn on the boat. There are four lanes to squeeze in. The ferry staff give orders where to drive and how to close ranks with the vehicle in front. Usually it is just enough space that a person without backpack can squeeze through. Then we rush to the sun deck, ready to face the beauty of the fjord.

The ferry starts from one of the many side arms of the fjord. After a while a sharp rock wall rises to the left for more than 200m into the clouds. The boat closely corners the rock and enters a narrow canal with steep walls either rocky or green with sparse vegetation. We enter the spectacular part of the Geiranger.

Waterfalls fed by the glaciers on the top of the mountains fall down the walls. Either single ones, or in groups. The most famous group is called the Seven Sisters and is part of the UNESCO World Heritage. Water can be falling vertically a 100m, or in many cascades, often fading out and producing interesting patterns.

Hair-pin bends waiting for us.

Though the rock walls are often steep we discovered areas where farmers have settled to grow fruits and raise animals until the 1960s. The farms are now abandoned but they are still maintained and are used for special events.

After another corner we are facing the village of Geiranger with two cruise ships in front. Immediately the name Costa Concordia comes to my mind. This was the cruise ship that was wrecked in 2012 because the captain came too close to an island. It seems that there are still enough people that like this kind of thrill. In order to come here the ship has to pass 100km through more or less narrow canals.

But before I get lost in nightmares the ferry docks at the peer and disembarkation starts. I am happy that the truck driver in front of me knows how to start up on a hill without rolling back into Ronda. We drive out of the ferry and face our next challenge: we have to climb 600m elevation around a few hair-pin bends.

Daring captains squeezing into narrow fjords. It looks like Lake Lucerne.